wet paint product demonstration

In This Issue
Wet Paint Product Demonstration
Front
Calendar, Workshops, President’s Message 2
Classes By Members
2
Have Pen Will Travel, Tending Tools of the Trade
3
Beginning Italic Class Series, A Little Script Tease
4
Stretching Your Boundaries
5
Midwest Art and Lettering Retreat
5
Knock, Knock Opportunities Galore
6
In Books—Book Review, Directory Update
Photos of Colleagues’ Artwork
7
Back
Colleag
ues of Calligraphy
Minn
eapolis/St. ul, Minnesota
Pa
November 2012
Wet Paint Product demonstration
(plus art created by Colleagues with featured supplies)
Saturday, November 17th from 12:30 PM - 3:30 PM at Plymouth Congregational Church
Liz, Darin, and Ann from Wet Paint Artists’
Materials and Framing on Grand
Avenue in St. Paul, will be on hand
presenting new and exciting artists’
supplies. During this presentation, you
will also see work created by members
of the Colleagues with these supplies,
as well as have some hands-on testing
opportunities! Featured products include:
❧❧A kua water-soluble printmaking
ink and pen applicators
❧❧S t r a t h m o re Vi s u a l J o u r n a l s a n d
Toned sketchbooks
❧❧TerraSkin stone (tree-free)
paper
❧❧Viarco water-soluble
drawing materials
❧❧P r i n c e t o n C a t a l y s t
color-shaping tools
❧❧Black Velvet brushes from
Silver Brush
❧❧Pilot GTEC-C4 pens
❧❧Noodler’s, Ziller, & Walnut Inks
❧❧Montana Acrylic Paint Markers
The Wet Paint artists/staff will also talk on several
topics, including the following:
✒✒ W h a t i s g o u a c h e ? W h a t
d i ff e re n t i a t e s a n “ A r t i s t s ”
gouache from a “Designer”
gouache?
✒✒ Tips/best practices for brush
& pen cleaning.
Additionally, they will have the featured
products—and a variety of other
calligraphy-related supplies—available
for purchase.
-JoAnn Almich, Program Director
For anyone who may be new to Wet
Paint, I strongly encourage you to
attend this meeting and visit their store
in St. Paul. In my humble opinion, Wet
Paint is the best art supply store around!
Not only do they stock an incredibly
diverse inventory of art supplies, but
their staff is comprised of
working artists! They are very
knowledgeable and helpful—
and will even answer email
questions. In short, they
know their stuff.
They also ship product
and will help find things,
going so far as to special
order whatever you need.
Minnesota is lucky to have
Wet Paint!
If I were you, I’d observe
closely and add items to your
holiday “Wish List,” stocking
stuffer requests...just sayin’...
-Lori Tews, Editor
Products shown in photos, clockwise,
top to bottom: Strathmore Visual
Journals, TerraSkin stone paper, Viarco
Tailor-Shape black carbon, Princeton
Black Velvet brush, and Catalyst color
shaping tool. Photos courtesy Wet
Paint web site product images.
Unless otherwise noted,
all meetings will be held at
Bus Routes: Nicollet/Franklin
Coming in Spring 2013 are two
workshops that will help you “Stretch
Your Boundaries.” Learn to be more
expressive—with brush lettering and
writing your own words! Check out the
instructors’ individual web sites, as
well as Yves’ YouTube videos.
Morning Beginning Italic Class
9:30 AM
“The Pointed Brush,” April 20 & 21,
2013, with Yves Leterme.
Social 12:30 PM
“In Our Own Words,” May 18 & 19,
2013, with Steven Skaggs.
Take advantage of our series of premeeting Beginning Italic classes, if this
aligns with your current goals.
cl as s e s by m e m be rs
When you get a chance, visit Jean
Formo and our re-visioned library
and join me in thanking her for the
tremendous amount of good work
she is doing for us in setting up and
administering this service.
Plymouth Congregational Church,
1900 Nicollet Avenue South,
Minneapolis.
Meeting 1:00 PM
(Evening meetings from 6:30 - 9:30 PM)
2012–2013
November 17
Wet Paint Program
January 19
Colleague Joyce
Francis, Hands-on
Program
February 16
Sandy Muzzy,
Hands-on Program,
Watercolor/Journal/
Nature Recording
March 16
Mini Workshops
April 19
(evening)
Yves Leterme
(Workshop on 20 &
21)
May 17
(evening)
Steven Skaggs
(Workshop on 18 &
19)
*Saturday programs begin at 12:30 PM;
Friday evening programs begin at 6:30 PM.
The one who removed the
mountain is the one who
began carrying away the
small stones.
-Japanese Proverb
❧❧A B e g i n n i n g I t a l i c c l a s s
is being offered free to all
Colleagues! Three more
sessions are planned prior to the
regularly scheduled Colleagues
program. All classes run
from 9:30-11:30 AM on
Saturdays, November 17,
January 19 and February 16.
Consider grabbing your tool
box and joining the group
for a chance to take some
personal time and get some
practice in. If you have not
already done so, please register
for the sessions at info@
colleaguesofcalligraphy.com.
❧❧Class 2 will cover the Italic
l o w e r- c a s e ( m i n u s c u l e s ) .
Instructor: Pat Barrett, patjohn@pressenter.com.
❧❧Class 3 will cover the Italic
u p p e r- c a s e ( m a j u s c u l e s ) .
Instructor: Judith Michalski,
jamichalskicalligrapher@
gmail.com
❧❧Class 4 will cover variations
and decorative strokes.
Instructor: Kris MacDonald,
krisquillpen@gmail.com.
❧❧For questions feel free to
contact the instructor or info@
colleaguesofcalligraphy.com
Yes, it’s our November meeting
already! Here are just a few notes from
me again.
Wet Paint will be presenting a fine
slate of information and hands-on
opportunities with the best lettering
and art materials and tools at this
meeting. Don’t miss it if you are able
to join us!
Try out the “Stretching Your
Boundaries” monthly challenges and
bring your results to the meetings to
share! Thanks to JoAnn Almich for
coordinating this!
Remember that we do not have a
December meeting, and our next
regular meeting after November will
be in January, 2013, with a program
presented by Joyce Francis!
Congratulations
to
Colleagues
member, Katie Beery, who is the
recipient of this year’s Jo White
Scholarship
Award.
Katie’s
application was selected from the four
that were submitted.
Don’t forget to consider helping the
Colleagues by offering to be nominated
as a board member or co-member for
2013—2014! Let any current board
member know if you are interested.
Board position responsibility details
will be available at the meetings for
you to view.
Have a wonderful, blessed holiday
season!
See you at the meetings, 
Signet is a publication of the Colleagues of Calligraphy. Submission deadlines are 30 days prior to the next monthly meeting. The editor is responsible for final decision on content. Mail
submissions to Signet, Lori Tews, 8791 Allison Dr. Unit F, Westminster, CO 80005 or write2lori@hotmail.com. Information and products mentioned in articles do not imply endorsement
by the COC or BOD. Copyright 2012 by the Colleagues of Calligraphy. No portion of the Signet may be reproduced without the written permission of the COC.
For membership, see www.colleaguesofcalligraphy.com or write COC, P.O. Box 4024, St. Paul, MN 55104.
2
Have Pen, Will Travel
colleagues demo
Joyce Francis will be demonstrating the new Princeton
Catalyst Tools at Wet Paint on Thursday, November
29, from 5:00–7:00 PM. She will be showing ways that
she uses the tools to create highly textured papers and
the resulting projects made with the papers.
On October 21 st, a special event at the Paradise Pen
Company, located in the Mall of America, featured
calligraphy demonstrations by Barb Makela and
lettered bookmarks by Lynn Ohlhorst. Several CoC
members stopped to browse and buy.
Photo on right: Colleague Lynn Ohlhorst letters bookmarks with new
Colleagues member, Gayle Zaier, observing. Photo and summary by
Barb Makela.
tending the tools of the trade
Many thanks to John Stevens for graciously sending these
instructions and granting permission to reprint!
3
Beginning Italic Class Series
& october meeting photos
The new Beginning Italic
class series is off and
running. Who knew there
were so many wanting to join
the “Inky Finger Society?!”
Photos, counter-clockwise, top
to bottom: Beginning students
ready and willing to lear n from
C o l l e a g u e s ’ i n s t r u c t o r, P a t
Barrett, on the left. (Photo by Barb
Makela). Thelma Olds shared her
lively, colorful “Gratitude” creation.
Judith Michalski, foreground, and
Aleksandra Streeter, background,
tuning up their italic minuscules.
(Last 2 photos by JoAnn Almich).
N o t e t h e l e t t e r i n g o n J u d i t h ’s
shirt—how fun is that?!
Colleagues instructor, Pat
Barrett, took students
through their “abc’s” with the
assistance of Lynn Ohlhorst,
Judith Michalski and Barb
Makela. Other Colleagues
came for some review and
practice. The break between class and
the regular meeting gave an opportunity
to meet and greet our new members.
Class 2, from 9:30–11:30 AM on
November 17th, will be a continuation
o f t h e l o w e r- c a s e ( m i n u s c u l e )
alphabet and a chance for some hints,
tips and tricks for getting one pretty
good “a” on the page!
Beginner class information can be found
at www.colleaguesofcalligraphy.
com/events.html. All beginner
kits have been sold. For class
supply information contact info@
colleaguesofcalligraphy.com.
-Barb Makela
A Little Script Tease
“ T H E ART O F COO K IN G & EATIN G ELE P H ANTS ”
Joyce Francis will be presenting a
“hands-on” meeting on January 19th
entitled, “The Art of Cooking and
Eating Elephants.”
exercises, and generally playing with
acrylics. Late one night, I decided to
mess around with an exercise that still
wasn’t working. One and one-half hours
later, I found myself standing at the sink
cleaning brushes. When I went back to
look at the easel, I was shocked to find
the piece shown here. My immediate
thoughts were, “Where did that come
from, and who did it?” It was the first
time I fell “into the zone” and came
back dazed.
Joyce was awarded the Jo White
Scholarship Award in October, 2011.
She spent the past year studying the
book, Expressive Drawing, written by
Steven Aimone. In June 2011, she
attended a week-long workshop offered
by Steven Aimone in Rockland, Maine.
Here is a “taste” of what’s on the menu
for her presentation, as written by
Joyce:
This piece “happened” after weeks
of reading, completing suggested
4
Acrylic painting by Joyce Francis.
The challenge after this experience was
to figure out, “How did I get there, and
how did it happen?” It’s such a mystery
to have these questions and to discover
the answers.
J a n u a ry ’ s c h a l lenge
In keeping with this year’s theme, “Stretching Your
Boundaries,” Program Director, JoAnn Almich, has been
busy preparing “monthly challenges” for all members at
all skill levels. The challenge handouts contain instructions
and photos for inspiration.
The holiday card example
was created for the
Splendor line at The
Printery House by Signet
Editor, Lori Tews. The heartshaped outline of the Holy
Family illustration was not a
deliberate intent, but once
done, it made writing the
copy the easy part!
The goal is to have members “try their hand” at as
many of the suggestions as they would like and bring
their projects to the following meeting to show and
share with fellow Colleagues of Calligraphy.
For January, there will be two challenges—do one or both:
✒ ✒ Design a holiday card to display and share at our
January meeting. (There will be a table set aside for
everyone’s holiday greeting card).
✒ ✒ The other challenge is to participate in the Graceful
Envelope contest (details on page 6).
(The October and November Challenges are available on
our CoC web site, on the Events & Workshops page).
Holiday card design by Signet
Editor, Lori Tews.
L o r i ’s c a r d d e s i g n w a s
recently accepted by juried
review for publication in
Letter Arts Review Greeting
Card issue (26-4), available
from publisher, John Neal
Bookseller, and at Wet Paint
in St. Paul.
Sponsored by
Minnesota’s Colleagues
of Calligraphy
Carleton College,
Northfield, MN
August 15—18, 2013
“The total is greater than the sum of the parts”.
Four prestigous instructors have been invited to teach at
MIDWEST 2013:
J o i n t h e s y n e rg y
of the Midwest
Art and Lettering
Retreat, where the
c o m b i n e d e n e rg y
and inspiration of
many participants
feeds your unique,
individual creativity!
We o ff e r f o u r f u l l
days away from
your daily routine, a
single air-conditioned
room to ensure
comfortable sleep at
night, guidance by
a master teacher in
finding your personal
artistic style, and
enjoying it all with
f r i e n d s w h o s h a re
your love of art.
✒✒ J UDY MELVIN: “Spontaneous Combustion”
(“a mixed-media mayhem!”)
-Steve Jobs, 2003
✒ ✒ MARTIN JACKSON: “Uncial letterforms”
✒✒ MARTHA ERICSON: “Variations of Italic”
✒ ✒ C A R L A S O N H E I M : “ T h e A r t o f S i l l i n e s s ”
(a fun, “yes-I-can” approach to drawing)
Photos, above left: example of
“Spontaneous Combustion” art by
Judy Melvin. Below left: Uncials and
butterlfy painting by Martin Jackson.
Above: an example of an “Art of
Silliness” drawing by Carla Sondheim.
The brochure of detailed
information on MIDWEST
2013 will be emailed
in January to all CoC
members and participants from the retreats
in 2011 and 2012. If you
have questions about
MIDWEST 2013 email the
director, Joyce Francis,
at midwestartandlettering@gmail.com.
5
Knock, Knock
opportunities galore
J
oyce Francis will be demonstrating the new
Princeton Catalyst Tools at Wet Paint on
Thursday, November 29, from 5:00–7:00 PM.
She will be showing ways that she uses the tools to
create highly textured papers and the resulting projects
made with the papers.
C
alligraphers everywhere are invited to participate
in the 2013
Graceful Envelope Contest,
conducted by the Washington (DC)
Calligraphers
Guild and the National Association of Letter Carriers.
There
is no entry fee.
The 2013 theme, “A World of Change,” asks calligraphers
to create a
Graceful Envelope by pondering a change from
the past or looking into
the future to the kind of change
you would like to see in the world.
Winners will be chosen
based on artistic hand lettering, creative
interpretation of
the theme and effective use of color and design,
including
incorporation of postage stamp(s).
Address the envelope as follows:
The
Graceful Envelope Contest,
100 Indiana
A v e . N W, W a s h i n g t o n , D C 2 0 0 0 1 - 2 1 4 4 .
The deadline is now
Monday, February 25, 2013.
See
the WCG website at www.calligraphersguild.org/
envelope.html
for contest rules and a downloadable flier.
(The 2012
envelopes are at www.calligraphersguild.org/
envwinners2012.html
)
J
acqueline Sullivan is putting out a regular studio
letter. It will contain hints and tips on mixed media
art as well as a schedule of upcoming classes and
events. Are you interested in receiving this? If so, please
go to her website and sign up: www.jacquelinesullivan.
com/sign-up-for-the-mailing-list. (She will not share your
address with anyone).
C
a r r i e I m a i ’s b o o k a n d
DVD, Dancin’ Pen:
Calligraphy Technique of
Pen Manipulation and Beyond, is
available at http://carriedesigns.
com/dancin-pen. Check it out and
be inspired!
of classes in the morning with free afternoons in which to
continue one’s work or to go on several trips to regional
points of interest including Lindisfarne itself.
G
e m m a B l a c k w i l l b e teaching The
Letterforms of David Jones and more in the
little hillside township of Cortona in the Tuscan
countryside, from June 8th to June 15th, 2013. For further
information, visit http://canberragem.blogspot.com.au/.
Annie Cicale is teaching The Artist’s Book: Vessel for
Word and Image the week before, so you may like a real
adventure and do both!
Y
ou are invited to be a part of CARAVANSARY:
A Calligraphic Expedition in Istanbul, Turkey,
from September 29 – October 9, 2013.
The increasing globalization of calligraphy in the past
four decades has had a major impact on our aesthetic
awareness and technical development. Surprisingly,
however, the study of Islamic book arts has been relatively
overlooked, until now…
This is a splendid opportunity for artists to examine the
extensive Byzantine and Ottoman contributions to the
history of lettering and book arts, in a combination of
workshops and visits to some of the most magnificent
cultural treasures ever produced. Students will rotate
among three classes, each of two days duration, with a
free day between each session to relax, sight-see, and
get lost in the fantastic bazaars while dining on endlessly
fabulous food.
Classes will be led by: Elinor Holland, Dayle Doroshow,
and Hikmet Barutçigul.
For more information, please contact Barry Morentz
at bardmore@earthlink.net; or Marcia Friedman at
marcia@oreilly.com.
B
ookings can now be
m a d e f o r t h e University
Writing Symposium
2013, July 13—18:
http://
onlinestore.sunderland.ac.uk/
The Symposium will be held in Durham,
UK, next year as part of the celebrations
of the return of the Lindisfarne Gospels
to the city for the summer of 2013.
Cover of Carrie Imai’s new book and DVD.
Teachers for 2013 will include Ewan Clayton, Ann Hechle
and Susan Moor. The symposium will be following a format
Thankfulness is the
beginning of g ratitude.
Gratitude is the
completion of thankfulness.
Thankfulness may consist
merely of words. Gratitude is
shown in acts.
- Henri Frederic Amiel
6
The
Book Review
Encyclopedia
of
Calligraphy
by Janet Mehigan & Mary Noble
This book lives up to its title
and cover—a step-by-step
visual guide of lettering styles,
backgrounds, illumination, and
inspirational artwork. It has a
wealth of material for those new
to calligraphy and for the more
experienced, too.
progress photos, and finished letters to “ooh and ahh” over.
I spent most of my time in this section, gilding using PVA
and patent gold and was pleased with the relatively easy
process.
The section on borders was too brief (not enough steps and
detail) for me to learn from, but it made me aware of many
ideas to follow up on.
The “Gallery” section
includes our own Judy
Dodds and Dona
Stenstrom, as well as
instructors we have had
here in the past (Mike
Kecseg) and will have
l a t e r t h i s y e a r ( Yv e s
Leterme). It is noteworthy
in the very broad range of
artistic possibilities.
It starts off logically with tools
and materials, good photos, and a brief description,
followed by 2-page sections on ruling lines, color, washes,
and layout principles. There are two pages each for the
many hands (11) with a ductus and some detailed stroke
views. (The pictures showing the strokes are excellent).
Two pages per alphabet is brief, but a lot of information is
packed into it!
The best part of the book for me was the “Illumination”
section (about 1/3 of the book) showing Romanesque,
Gothic, Arts and Craft, Renaissance, and Modern Capital
letters with diagrams to trace, colorful examples, and many
techniques. Whereas previous sections were two pages per
subject, the “Illumination” section has four pages each, with
10 pages devoted to using gold. The differences between
shell gold, leaf gold, and patent gold are explained as are
the different sizes (glue for the gold) that are available.
There is a “You Will Need” list of materials, detailed
Te c h n i q u e s
Image courtesy of John Neal
Bookseller. Available to borrow from
the CoC library!
I very much enjoyed
browsing through this
book many times—
stopping here and there
to read a page and try the techniques. I would rate this
book as highly recommended —and it is available in our
Colleagues’ library!
-Gary Feyen, November’s Book Enthusiast & Reviewer
Di rectory Update
This month, we welcome ten new members! May your
lettering and friendships flourish as a fellow Colleague!
❧ ❧T homas McNinch, 1508 Iowa Ave. W, Falcon
Heights, MN 55108; H 651.644.9946
new members:
❧❧Kate Thomas, 1812 – 1st Ave. S # 307, Minneapolis,
MN 55403; C 909.238.2648; kthomas@mcad.edu
❧❧L eslie Bowman, 5333 France Ave. S, Minneapolis,
MN 55410-2021; C 612.926.1568; l.w.bowman@
comcast.net
❧ ❧Jill Burke, 5272 Red Oak Dr., St. Paul, MN 55112; H
763.786.2544; C 763.439.5188; jill.burke@conferencedirect.com
❧ ❧E llen Erntsberger, 17016 – 39th Court N, Plymouth,
MN 55446; H 763.444.1896; C 614.425.4201; ehommerd@yahoo.com
❧❧Georgia Greeley, 1389 Randolph Ave., St. Paul, MN
55105; H 651.690.4928; gag2jhg@aol.com
❧❧Judith Main, 2284 Highland Parkway #204, St. Paul,
MN 55116-1001; C 651.999.9588; judymain@gmail.
com
❧ ❧M ary Dee McEvoy, 4293 Weston Way, Shoreview,
MN 55126; C 651.280.5234; marydeemcevoy@comcast.net
❧❧Fern Wilcox, 567 Gramsie Rd, Shoreview, MN 551267020; H 651.481.1296; C 651.808.3646; iamfern61@
gmail.com
❧❧G ayle Zaier, 5691 – 200th St W, Farmington, MN
55024; C 612.245.4300; gaylezaier@yahoo.com
information changes:
✒ ✒ Gayle Adelsman, H 612.823.7454
✒ ✒ Mary Beth Hinrichs, mbhinrichs@me.com
✒ ✒ Charlie Hughes, C 952.913.1403
✒ ✒ Paula Schwinn, H 651.270.8084
✒✒ Janey Westin, C 612.834.3799
✒ ✒ E m i l y S t o u t , 3 4 5 5 B l a i s d e l l A v e . A p t . 3 ,
Minneapolis, MN 55408
7
P.O. Box 4024
St. Paul, MN 55104
Skillfully flourished “R” lettered by Diane von Arx and layered over image in Photoshop.
A beautiful and inspiring collection of calligraphic art created by JoAnn Almich for the monthly “Stretching Your
Boundaries” lettering challenges.